The Journal of infection
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The Journal of infection · Sep 2020
Comment LetterMass masking as a way to contain COVID-19 and exit lockdown in low- and middle-income countries.
In new guidelines published on June 5th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that in areas with ongoing COVID-19 community transmission, governments should encourage the general public to wear face masks in specific situations and settings as part of a comprehensive approach to suppress COVID-19 transmission. Recent online surveys in 206,729 persons residing in nine low- and middle-income countries showed that 32.7%-99.7% of respondents used face masks with significant differences across age groups and sexes. Targeted health promotion strategies and government support are required to increase mask use by the general population.
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The Journal of infection · Sep 2020
Four point-of-care lateral flow immunoassays for diagnosis of COVID-19 and for assessing dynamics of antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2.
We aimed to evaluate the role of rapid serological tests in the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. ⋯ Though the POC antibody rapid tests based on LFIA showed reliable performance in the detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, the results of these tests should be interpreted and applied appropriately in the context of antibody dynamic of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 patients complicated with pneumonia exhibited earlier anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response than COVID-19 patients without pneumonia.
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The Journal of infection · Sep 2020
SARS-CoV-2 infection, clinical features and outcome of COVID-19 in United Kingdom nursing homes.
To understand SARS-Co-V-2 infection and transmission in UK nursing homes in order to develop preventive strategies for protecting the frail elderly residents. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in four UK nursing homes was associated with very high infection and mortality rates. Many residents developed either atypical or had no discernible symptoms. A number of asymptomatic staff members also tested positive, suggesting a role for regular screening of both residents and staff in mitigating future outbreaks.